One Year Perspective

Ok. It hasn't yet been one year since I left Montreal and came to Vietnam, but being in Japan again visiting Jeannette and soon making my way back home for the holidays has got me thinking.

Interestingly, I found an old document in my Google Documents titled "5-year goals". I hadn't even looked at it in a year and a half, from the day I had an inspirational chat with a friend and ran home to write exactly what I think I should do in the next 5 years.

Out of the 5 I had written down, two of them have been achieved. The last goal, however, is to figure out what my other goals are. Seeing that I can knock two off the list, I have started to think hard about what I want to do next with my life (not an easy feat).

I like Vietnam, and I love living there. I love learning this new language, and discovering new things everyday. I can see myself there for a little while. But I need an escape plan for when the time comes.

I think I want to go back to school. I mean, I know.

I thought about going back to Montreal for school, but I've quickly scratched that out. I think that if I plan on eventually making my way back there, and I do, then having a degree from somewhere abroad is probably a better idea.

I'm thinking France, England, Germany - even Thailand or somewhere in the Pacific.

Now I just need to figure out what field I want to study in... and edit my Google Document.

Food in Vietnam

Food is my life. Anybody who knows me well knows that I love to cook and eat things. Cooking is half the fun. And sometimes it's all the fun, especially when a recipe doesn't work out.

It's hard sometimes to stroll the streets here in Hanoi and find something that I can eat. But when I find something, I can't be happier. It's not uncommon for me to be walking completely full from a meal, and to pass by some food vendor selling some sort of delicious snack food and totally cave in. At the moment I'm in love with chè, a gloppy concoction of sweet beans sprinkled with candied fruit or lotus seeds.

Though I haven't yet mastered the art of making chè, I've been quickly trying to learn how to make Vietnamese food. I took a cooking class in Hoi An (in Central Vietnam) and Bangkok. That's one souvenir I want to bring back home with me: the art of making Southeast Asian food. I learned how to make peanut sauce, green and red chili paste, pad Thai, Penang curry, green papaya salad, Isaan, dau phu sot ca chua (tofu sauteed with tomatoes), dau phu xa ot (tofu with lemongrass and chili), banh xeo (Vietnamese savoury pancakes) among others.

Whenever I go back to Montreal, my friends should brace themselves for delicious Southeast Asian feasts.

Start fasting now.

Blowing Bangkok Birthday Bonanza 2009!!!

So I'm back from Bangkok, and now getting ready to take a 15 hour train ride to Danang in North-Central Vietnam.

I'm not rolling in dough, can I mention... Things are just so cheap here.

Thailand was an amazing experience. I think it's ruined my view of Hanoi.

There's something about mixing an elevated light rail system with coconut-based curries that makes me want to pack up everything and move there.

I'll sit on it for the weekend (sitting on the beach in Danang, is exactly what I'll be doing).